The Role of Reading Order and Monitoring Skills During Hypertext Comprehension

In this paper we discuss two experiments on the role that comprehension monitoring skills play in selecting the reading order of hypertextual information and comprehending this information. In the first experiment, learners who could be characterized as learners with low prior knowledge comprehended the hypertext better when they selected a coherent reading order. Further, number of links per page had no effect on cognitive load or comprehension. Finally, link support enhanced comprehension. In the second experiment, we showed that low prior knowledge learners are able to select a high coherent reading order strategy provided that these learners have high monitoring skills with regard to their comprehension process. We conclude that an important characteristic of hypertext comprehension is the skill to monitor the level of coherence and regulating the reading order is in this respect essential.